Background and intro
At the highest levels of maturity, it is essential for the organization to have a comprehensive understanding of the major components that form the foundation of the EKG.
This includes---and ideally starts---with identifying and defining the key entities such as people, places, departments, data products, use cases, and the connecting data contracts that facilitate the exchange of information.
- People: Identifying the individuals and roles within the organization is essential for establishing a comprehensive EKG. Understanding the expertise, responsibilities, and contributions of employees helps determine the knowledge holders and potential collaborators who can contribute to the EKG.
- Places: Identifying the physical locations, organizational units, and virtual spaces is important for capturing the context and relevance of the knowledge within the EKG. It helps establish the spatial relationships and organizational structure that influence the flow of information.
- Departments: Identifying the various departments, functional units or other stakeholders, parties and legal entities within the organization or ecosystem allows for a better understanding of the specific knowledge or business domains and subject areas that exist. This helps organize and categorize the knowledge assets within the EKG and enables effective collaboration and information exchange across departments.
- (Semantic) Data Products: Identifying and cataloging the data products available within the organization is crucial for a mature EKG. This includes structured data, unstructured documents, analytical models, ontologies, and other knowledge representations. Understanding the content, format, and availability of data products ensures their proper integration and utilization within the EKG.
- Use Cases: Identifying and defining the use cases or information needs of the organization is essential for aligning the EKG with business requirements. By understanding the specific questions, challenges, and objectives, the EKG can be tailored to address these use cases effectively and provide the necessary knowledge support.
- Data Contracts: Identifying and establishing data contracts or agreements between data publishers---and their data products---and users is fundamental for the EKG's scalability and success. These contracts outline the terms, specifications, and expectations for sharing and accessing data products within the overall Enterprise Knowledge Graph in the context of a given use case. They define the rights, responsibilities, and quality requirements to ensure reliable and consistent knowledge exchange.
at the highest levels of maturity, an Enterprise Knowledge Graph (EKG) serves as an enabler for a knowledge-based economy or data economy. The EKG acts as a bridge between the demand for information, represented by various use cases, and the supply of information provided by data publishers and their data products. Its primary purpose is to facilitate efficient discovery, access, and utilization of relevant knowledge within an organization.